Norway's ambassador to Thailand meets with AIT scholarship recipients
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"It's clear that Myanmar needs professional human capital," said Norway's Ambassador to Thailand Katja Christina Nordgaard, while meeting with scholarship recipients from Myanmar.
The students have won Norway’s scholarships to study at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
Nordgaard added that she was happy that the scholarship recipients included strong representation from the country’s various ethnic groups and women.
As a former ambassador to Myanmar, she spoke of her great fondness for the country and its people whom she said are now “extremely keen to catch up and learn” through educational opportunities.
The ambassador also introduced elements of life in Norway, telling the students it would be good if they could maintain a connection to her country in the future.
Ambassador Nordgaard added how pleased she was to meet with the young Myanmar scholars for the third time, and asked them all to do their best to work for peace and to apply their knowledge and skills for the positive development of their country.
She also offered some advice: “Young people can make a difference by making their voices heard. Decide where and how you want to make a difference in Myanmar and go for it.”
For the past three years, the Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) has annually sponsored 40 students from Myanmar to further their Master’s level studies at AIT in Thailand.
Addressing a gathering of NMFA-supported students from Myanmar, the ambassador also met some students from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos who are funded by Norway.
The coveted NMFA scholarship programme attracts a high degree of interest in Myanmar every year, with less than 10 per cent of applicants receiving a scholarship. The final batch of forty students has been selected and will enrol at AIT in the August 2014 semester, AIT Admissions Office officials said.
